Musings of an aspiring renaissance woman

Tag: goals

Happy New Year! I hope you got to relax and take time off from work over these past few weeks. Dave and I had a glorious week+ off. We enjoyed time with family and friends and caught up on sleep and even took a few walks in the bitter, bitter cold land in which we live.

Are you the kind of person who sets goals at the beginning of every year? I tend to set (and unset) goals at random throughout the year. Like in July, after I was sick as a dog for a week, I set a goal to meditate every day. Today is the one-hundred and fifty-second day in a row that I have sat in silence at least once a day. I’ve learned that it’s pretty simple to incorporate something into the day when it only takes 10-20 minutes of your time. Especially when you tack it onto a pre-existing routine, like getting ready for bed.

Some of my vague goals for 2018 are:

start writing my autobiography

find & enter at least two short story contests

improve diet to include more fruits & veg and less processed food

sleep at least 7 hrs every night, not just on the weekends

exercise, ya lazy bum!

there are more goals, but I’ll reveal those as I attain them…

Start writing my autobiography

I’ve already got half my autobiography written on this blog, so it’s just a matter of compiling and editing and I’m off to a great start.

Find & enter at least two short story contests

This should push me outside my comfort zone a bit, and give me a new challenge.

Improve diet to include more fruits & veg and less processed food

I’m already a pretty healthy eater, though my weakness is snack foods. (As I typed that I realized I forgot to have my after dinner cookie, but it’s too late now. So… guess I’m off to a good start there.)

I am currently focusing on going totally vegan, which means I just have to cut out the entire block of Cabot cheese I was consuming weekly. Cut the cheese, Heather!

Also, we’re getting a Ninja so we can make better smoothies, so watch out for us!

Sleep at least 7 hrs every night, not just on the weekends

Going to bed is very hard for me… even though I love sleeping, I always think of one (or five) more things to do before I go to bed. It results in my staying up later than I should, and feeling like death warmed over in the morning. So it’s really time I got this under control.

You’re in my world now, Grandma.

Exercise, ya lazy bum!

Confession: I have gained 20 pounds over the last several years. Probably 10 in the last year alone. I don’t weigh myself at home, but the last time I had a physical and I got on the scale, I was like,

I have to admit, it made sense. I had noticed that some of my pants which had once been loose were now very snug. The harsh realities of weight gain were finally something I’d have to deal with. I guess having a desk job, loving snacks, and not getting enough sleep (or exercise) has really caught up to me.

On that note – it’s time for me to get to bed!

What are your goals for 2018?

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It’s a total cliché statement, and I even have a sticker of it right here on my laptop – Be the change you wish to see in the world. (Sidenote: although this is attributed to Ghandi, it’s really a condensed version of what he said.)

But anyway, it’s still a decent concept to live by. Like the golden rule. Do unto others as you would have them do to you. Treat all living things the way you want to be treated. Live the way you wish everyone would live, the way you feel is best for the planet and our fellow earthlings. Be an example.

I don’t know how much difference it really makes to just BE your best self. Is it really that inspiring to those around you? Does anyone actually notice?

If it did, wouldn’t everyone I know have become a vegetarian by now, and have discarded all their excess stuff in a full embrace of minimalism? Also, could we have freaking shorter work days? I must be doing something wrong.

I guess the difference I really want to make in people’s lives is to bring more joy into them in some way or another. Either by sharing a story that touches them, or by sharing art that moves them, or by straight up reaching out and being a good friend to someone. I want to stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves. I want to teach people how to take better care of their health, and the health of the environment. Basically, I want to be your favorite elementary school teacher, Jane Goodall and Rachel Carson all rolled into one.

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*Note, cartoon version portrays more fingers than the real life version actually posesses.

Happy New Year!

I’ve been away from WordPress for a couple of weeks now due to all the holiday fun that was going on, but now it’s a quiet, work-free afternoon and so I cannot delay posting any longer.

My holidays were quite lovely and I hope yours were too. I always enjoy spending time with my family, and now that everyone is grown up and off doing their own thing it is even more significant when we can get together for a few days. We had a fun couple of days filled with food, games and winter walks. You can’t get much better than that!

Dave got me a laptop for Christmas, so that I can write more (and so I’ll stop using his). I’m pretty excited, as I haven’t had a personal laptop in ages. This afternoon, using my new laptop is proving difficult because the cats are taking turns climbing all over me while Dave is napping on the couch. Honestly. I don’t know how people can work from home when they have cats. Whenever I try to do anything at the table, someone’s got to be climbing all over it. It’s like having kids who will never grow up.

Ahem. Anyway, since it is January 1, 2015, I suppose I should do the typical reflection on the past year and predictions or goals for the year to come.

2014 started off on a low note, as one of the first moments involved going down to New Jersey for Gram’s funeral. The up side of that was getting to see a lot of family who we really don’t see much of otherwise. Gram’s passing was tough and I think it cast a melancholy hue over me for much of the early part of the year. It also got me thinking about death in a spiritual sense, which was one of those things I had been ignoring prior to that because it was too hard to think about. That’ll be something for another post (or another blog entirely). At work, I was able to move laterally within the company, and so started an intense journey of learning the ropes of a whole new department in the midst of one of the busiest years yet. The plus side of that is that I earned about 25% more this year than I did the year before. Woo hoo! I probably also worked 25% more hours than I did the year before too, so boo that. But I do appreciate the extra dough, at least until tax time rolls around and then I may have other feelings. Overall it was a year of major growth for me. I’m talking spiritual, emotional and skill-set growth, not waistline, though that may have expanded just a bit too. I’ve accomplished my goals of writing more, spending more time ‘offline’, and finally, of joining Toastmasters again. Missions accomplished.

2015 is off to a good start so far. Today we had a leisurely morning with a late breakfast, and then we took a nice walk on the rail trail. It was cold but there’s not one particle of snow on the ground so it doesn’t feel like we’re in the midst of winter. I’m sitting here with my new laptop, drinking a bottle glass of wine, I have a cozy house with a handsome man and two fuzzy kids, what more could I ask for?

As far as the blog goes, I think I did a pretty good job of keeping up with posting throughout the year, despite hectic schedules and bouts of writer’s block/procrastination/self loathing. I’d really like to post more often, but let’s be honest, how much can I really write about EEC? I am mulling over some ideas for this coming year, such as expanding the blog (or making a new blog) to cover more topics that I’m interested in, like environmental issues, mindfulness/meditation, religion/spirituality, vegetarian/veganism and things along those lines. I do still have EEC-related things I can write about, especially as I am about to embark on a new dental adventure, if my insurance company is willing to cooperate.

I’ve also been contemplating being more open with owning my blog. I know most of you who read it know my real name, and I’ve probably let it slip here and there, but I’m going to change my pseudonym to my actual name. If I ever want to get anywhere as a writer, I need to own up to the things I’ve written, right? It’s a little scary for me, because despite all I’ve written about overcoming my fears of rejection and shame about my physical issues, I am still hesitant to open up fully. I still have moments of worry that people are going to take the things I’ve written and use it against me. Even if it’s just superficial, i.e., calling me a freak or a weirdo because I was born this way. In my life I have come across some rather superficial people who cannot get past my physical anomalies. I tell myself that it is their problem, not mine, but I still can’t help but feel a bit hurt about it. I think that’s a good reason to keep pushing myself to share though. As I’ve written before, outside the comfort zone is where the magic happens!

Happy New Year to you all, and thanks for keeping up with my blog all this time. May 2015 be a happy and prosperous year for you.